Slowing Down

It's Saturday.  We are on the Cape.  Usually, I would have woken up nice and early to get a run in this morning.  Last time we were here I think I did 6 plus miles - that was in July.  No such luck today, no such luck this week actually.   In fact, I have not run since last Saturday during which time I ran a slow 4/5 miles and suffered the rest of the day from lower back pain.  The next morning, I woke up and felt like I had run 20 miles - I assure you, I did not.

My PT had previously warned me, when he watched me run two weeks ago, that he was worried mostly about me hurting my lower back and the potential for me to compensate  due to the added front weight.  At the time, he told me to run 2 miles on Wednesday and 4 on that Saturday and come back the next week.  Pre-pregancy, running Stephanie would have come back in bright and early Monday morning to report the lower back pain and see what options we had.  At the very least, I would have called.  I did neither.  I told myself I would go in Wednesday (my PT works mornings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday).  Wednesday came and the idea of trekking into PT at 5 am only to trek back out in the opposite direction for work sounded awful.  So I just let it go.  I ellipticaled and walked and told myself I would check in next week, as I will be in the area for work anyway.

The thing is I get it.  I am 29 weeks pregnant and am getting bigger by the second. When I run, just like my PT said, I am compensating.  I cannot help it and it is not so fun and kind of down right painful. I  told myself I would order a maternity belt.  It took me until Wednesday to actually do that.  There was a time that if I thought a product would solve my running woes, I would drive two hours to get it, in traffic, if it meant that it would keep me  that very day as opposed to the next day or G-d forbid several days from then.

So as I said, during this past week, as I did not go to PT and did not have the maternity belt, I ellipticaled and walked each day.  But even if I could have run this week, I don't know how well it would have gone even without the lower back pain.  My ellipticaling is getting slower, I am not pushing as hard, or really even breaking a sweat.  Do I care?  Yes sort of.  Do I have the energy or true determination at this point to push harder?  No, not really.  The "hardcore" runner in me hates this.  Hates that it is Saturday and instead of an hour long run I took an hour long walk.  "It" feels pretty lame and jealous of all of the other runners out there logging miles.  But then the mommy-to-be/pregnant woman inside of me pipes up and wins out noting that we would much rather be pregnant and not running than not pregnant and running for now.  In fact, we are pretty darn lucky.

So, my body is slowing down.  It is getting more tired, more easily sore.  And that is O.K.  Sure, I may try on the maternity belt and all my problems may go away or my P.T. may have a magic bullet (I am not optimistic on either), but if not, that is O.K. too.  I will continue to do what I am doing and that will be just enough for now.

Wubby slows down too after a day of fun!

How do you accept not running?  Did you ever find a maternity belt that worked for you?